Letter from the President

As a historian by training, I tend to think about change over the course of time and the importance of commemorating significant dates in the past. While we are currently planning for our upcoming Bicentennial in 2016, there are two very important interim celebrations fast approaching. Now in 2009, our teacher education programs have reached a milestone. Although chartered by New York State in 1816 to offer degrees as St. Lawrence Academy, the College still depended on local North Country support. The state designated it as a center for teacher education in 1834, and in turn supplied state funding and clear recognition of the teacher education program as a center of excellence in the region and throughout the state. From the very first days of its existence, the College has trained dedicated and talented teachers. For 175 years, we have been uniquely chartered by the state for that purpose.

Just last year, we hosted a visit by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the most stringent and prestigious of accrediting bodies for education, which granted us an additional five years of accreditation with not a single adverse finding. I have participated in these reviews in four states now and this is the first time that I have ever seen such a glowing external report on a teacher education program. We all are so very proud of our teacher preparation program. Of course, an important component of our teacher education program is the music education program of The Crane School of Music. Here, too, we are approaching an important anniversary. Crane, the oldest music education program in the country, will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2011.

Teachers will all report education is more than what goes on in the classroom and, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor and a U. S. Department of Education Title III Grant for $1.6 million, we are significantly enhancing our already stellar programs for student research. This is a perfect blend of grant initiatives and generous donor support that have catapulted SUNY Potsdam into national leadership among public universities in providing unprecedented opportunities for students in undergraduate research.

The Title III Grant has allowed us to implement the necessary infrastructure to capitalize on our already highly developed program by creating a new Center for Undergraduate Research under the direction of Dr. Bethany Usher from our Anthropology Department. Faculty and students will be able to draw on Title III funds for travel when they are co-presenting research with students at conferences. In short, this provides us with an extraordinary basis upon which to continue to build our undergraduate research program.

If the Title III Grant put the basic structure in place, an anonymous gift of $400,000 to endow the Kilmer Fund has provided the opportunity to expand upon that base. Kilmer Undergraduate Research Apprenticeships will allow students and faculty to collaborate on research projects outside the classroom, providing additional opportunities for students to excel at research, including support for student travel. Undergraduate research opportunities greatly enrich the collegiate experience of our students and provide them with what I like to call a handcrafted education.

These recent developments at SUNY Potsdam serve as a wonderful example of how we can use grants and gifts from generous donors to greatly increase the opportunities that we provide for our students. Quite truly, it will transform what is an already important program into a truly exceptional one.

John F. Schwaller